Jury: Toyota not to blame in collision

STOCKTON - A jury has ruled that Toyota was not to blame for a 2004 head-on crash that left a Lodi woman in a wheelchair.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - A jury has ruled that Toyota was not to blame for a 2004 head-on crash that left a Lodi woman in a wheelchair.

Christina Mendez on Dec. 8, 2004, rode in the front passenger seat of a Corolla driven by her mother when a man in a Ford Explorer drifted into their lane, causing a collision.

The mother-daughter pair was driving on rural Highway 88 from their home in Lodi to work at the Jackson Rancheria Casino. The colliding cars struck right headlight to right headlight.

Mendez's mother walked away from the accident unscathed.

The attorneys for Mendez argued in the six-week trial that their client would have walked away from the accident had the carmaker built its 1998 Corolla to the same standard as in subsequent years.

Toyota blamed the accident on the other driver, who fell asleep behind the wheel because he was high on methamphetamine and had been up for days gambling.

The jury returned its verdict Friday.

In addition to Mendez, her husband, Rafael Mendez, was also named as a plaintiff against Toyota. A roofer by trade, he now takes care of his wife full time.

Christina Mendez had given birth to the couple's third child five months before the accident.

Attorneys for Mendez did not return calls Monday seeking comment.

Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore said the carmaker expressed its sympathy for Mendez while standing by the quality of Toyota's products.

"We are pleased with the jury's ruling," Migliore said in a written statement Monday. "Given the severity of the crash, the high rate of speed and the involvement of an SUV, Toyota believes the Corolla provided excellent occupant protection."